Anna's Return
by gibbslovexo
Summary: Sequel to "Let's Relax". Sometimes, you just have to wait until the end of the day to figure out that it's all worth it. Every tear, every scar, every broken heart, it all makes sense in the end.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing the NCIS characters and promise to put them back the way I found them.**

**A/N So this is the sequel to ****_Let's Relax_****. If you haven't read that story yet than this story may be a little bit confusing. ENJOY:)**

* * *

"Jethro stop it!" She laughed. Another piece of popcorn flew right at her and she returned fire.

They had started out lying with each other in Jenny's bed, watching a movie, when they broke out into a full-on food fight with the popcorn that Gibbs had made. They were having a great time just being in each other's company.

After a few minutes, their fun little food fight had ended and they were listening to the sounds of each other's hearts.

"I love you Jen."

"I love you too Jethro."

Gibbs looked at her and said, "How did I get to be so lucky? After Shannon, I never thought that I would love again. I never thought I _could_. I didn't think it was possible, but now that you're in my life, I guess I was wrong." He smiled.

Jenny laughed, "I dunno Jethro, maybe you're just really good with the ladies."

"Yeah, try telling that to my three ex-wives." He laughed, "Hey Jen, remember that time that we went _swimming _in the ocean down in Florida?"

She thought back to that great time she had spent with her new _fiancé_. "Yeah, I remember. That was like two years ago, it was fun."

He nodded, "We should do that again some time." He paused, "So what do you wanna talk about?"

She thought again for a moment, "Us, our future."

Gibbs tilted his head to the right. "You want to talk about our future?"

She nodded, smiling.

"Okay, what about our future?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could buy a cute little house not too far from here." She suggested, "Once were married."

He looked down for a moment, "Jen, you know I can't sell my house. It's were Shannon and Kelly lived."

She sighed, "Yeah your right, I'm sorry. We can just move into your house."

He smiled, "I would love that."

She laughed and put her head down on his bare chest. "What about kids?"

Gibbs almost chocked when she said the word _kids. _He couldn't have another kid. He would just mess it up again like he did the last time. He shook his head, "I dunno Jenny."

Jenny grabbed his hand, "Jethro, this is something that I really want. I've always dreamt about being a mother, and now that I've finally found my soul-mate, I know that you're the one I want to have a child with."

He sighed, "I'll think about it Jen. It's a lot of work."

She laughed, "I know that, but at the end of the day when that little precious face looks up at you from their bed and says _goodnight, I love you_, that's what makes it all worth it, right?"

Gibbs just stared into space, thinking.

* * *

_"Kelly let's go, time for bed." _

_"But Daddy, can't I stay up with you and Mommy for a little bit more? I'm not even tired!" _

_"No sweety, you have a big day tomorrow, first day of school, remember?" _

_"Yay I forgot!" She exclaimed running to her room, her dad following close behind. _

_"Lay down Kell." _

_Kelly got into bed and let her dad pull the covers over top of her. She looked up at him and said, "Goodnight Daddy, I love you."_

* * *

Jenny could see that her fiancé didn't want to talk about this now so she changed the subject. "How's the Simmons case going?"

He nodded, "We're close, give us a couple days and we'll close it." He assured her.

"Good. I have no doubt in my mind that you will get Mrs. Simmons the justice she deserves. " She smiled. "Ready for bed?" She asked.

"Yep." Gibbs said getting under the covers and turning out the lights.

* * *

In the morning Gibbs got up before Jenny and made coffee. He sat in the kitchen reading the newspaper when he saw Jenny come down the stairs already dressed.

"Good morning." Gibbs smiled.

"Morning sweety." She said kissing him softly.

"Did you make me coffee?" She asked.

He nodded and pointed over to the counter. She grabbed the cup and sat down across from Gibbs. "Watcha reading?"

"The mayor wants to take down the Children's Park over on Rothley Ave and build an apartment complex." He said without looking up.

"Can he even do that?" He questioned.

He nodded his head, "He's the mayor. He can do whatever he damn well pleases."

Jenny nodded, "Well let's head off to work, I have a lot to do." She said grabbing her coat off the couch and walking out the door, Gibbs following her with his coffee.

* * *

Once they got to Headquarters, they both walked in together and got in the elevator.

Jenny turned to Gibbs. "Have a good day. Good luck on the case." She said kissing his lips.

He smiled, "You too. Don't piss off SECNAV to much."

She laughed. When the elevator bell sounded, they broke a part, stepped out of the elevator, and went their separate ways.

"Updates on the Simmons case." Gibbs ordered walking into the bullpen.

Tony sat upright in his chair. "Commander Davis was last seen at the diner where Mr. Simmons worked."

"David, Dinozzo, go to the diner and see if you can get anyone to tell you where Davis might be headed. McGee, go down to Abby's lab and-"

"Help her with decrypting the computer hardware, on it boss." McGee said finishing Gibbs sentence.

Soon he was all alone in the bullpen and sat down satisfied.

* * *

In had been a pretty slow day for Jenny. She had four meetings and had to check over all the agent's case reports. She was glad that it was over. She grabbed the paperwork and began to walk out of her office door when her desk phone rang. It was 11:45 at night. Who could be calling her this late at night?

She walked over to her desk and picked up the phone, "Director Shepherd."

"_Hi I'm looking for Jenny._"

"This is she." Jenny nodded.

She heard heavy breathing on the other line. "_Jenny, it's Anna." _

Her eyes went wide remembering the little girl she had met at the hospital about two years ago. "Anna! How are you sweetheart?"

"_Jenny, I need your help. I don't have time to explain but could you come pick me up at the Virginia airport?"_

She tried to remain calm, "What are you doing there?"

_"Just please hurry. I'll be sitting outside." _ And then she hung up.

Jenny grabbed her coat off the desk, holstered her firearm and ran down to her car. As she was on her way she passed Gibbs in the bullpen getting ready to leave and find her so they could go home. "Sorry Jethro but I have to take the car. Something came up and I'll see you tomorrow." She said as she ran passed him.

Gibbs tried to call after her. "How am I supposed to get home?"

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Please review! What did you think? Yeah or Naw?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Although I wish I owned these characters, sadly I don't. Except for Anna, she's all mine. ENJOY:)**

* * *

She got in the car and drove as fast as she could. If anyone dared to pull her over, she would just show them her I.D. Don't mess with the director of a federal agency when she's in a hurry. According to her GPS, she still had about an hour to go. What could be so important that _she _had to get Anna? Where was her grandma? Does she even know that Anna ran away? Why is it taking so long for her to get there? It's not like there was traffic. It was 12:37 and the last car she'd seen had passed her a few miles back.

What if Anna was in trouble? What if she was hurt? She pressed even harder on the gas pedal when her cell phone rang. She picked it up to see who it was. _Gibbs._ He was probably worried about her. She ran out of the office in a pretty frantic hurry. She loved the man to death but he worried about her way too much. She was almost certain that it started the week they returned from Florida.

* * *

_Gibbs was lying in bed. He wanted so desperately to get up, but between the medications the hospital gave him that were wearing him down, and Jenny practically breathing down his neck to rest, he thought better of it. The hospital gave him strict orders to have someone watch over him for a couple of weeks to help him around. He hated that order, and what he hated even more, was that Jenny had volunteered for the job. He was always glad to spend time with her. He loved her, but he could barely walk on his own for God sakes. He didn't want her to see him this vulnerable. He told her that it wasn't necessary, but she had told him that it was either her or DiNozzo, and he certainly didn't want DiNozzo around him 24/7. _

_He opened his eyes to see Jenny standing next to his bed with some water. "Thank you." He mumbled when all the sudden, he heard Jenny start coughing. He sat up as fast as his body would allow him to, ignoring the pain, and gave her a worried look. She noticed his concerned face. "It was just a cough Jethro gezz, I was down in the basement for a while. The sand dust got to me." He still looked at her with worried eyes. He didn't know why, but after the accident, he's been worried sick about Jenny. Every little cough or sneeze would alert him fully and he would spend the rest of the night worrying about that one little cough. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked. "I'm fine Jethro, you need to stop worrying."_

* * *

She contemplated whether or not to answer it. If she answered the call, she knew that she would be bombed with questions that she really didn't have the time to answer. If she didn't answer his call, she knew that he would worry himself sick for the rest of the night.

"Hello." She answered putting the phone on speaker so she could still have two hands on the wheel in order to drive faster.

_"Jenny what is going on? Are you okay?"_ Gibbs asked sounding distressed.

"Jethro, everything's fine. I just have something I need to take care of before I come home." She tried to assure him without worrying him.

_"What do you need to take care of? Why did I have to walk home?"_ He almost yelled.

"Please calm down, I am safe and that is all that you need to know. I'll see you at work tomorrow. I'm going to stay at my house tonight." She said shutting the phone shut, hoping that he would be okay.

She looked over at the GPS which said that she was only a few miles away from the airport. Once she was familiar with where she was, she shut off the GPS and continued her route to the airport.

* * *

She found a parking spot and walked to the front gate. Anna had called from a payphone so she walked over to the nearest payphone. No one was near it. She looked down a little farther and saw a girl alone sitting on a bench. The girl had nothing but a backpack with her. That had to be her. She ran over to her and put a hand on her shoulder causing her to jump.

"Anna, it's me Jenny. Are you okay?" She asked looking the older looking child up and down for any obvious injuries. So far she found none.

"Thank you so much for coming." She wrapped her arms around Jenny enjoying the warmth of her coat. "We need to go." She said releasing the hug.

"What's wrong Anna? Why are you here all by yourself? _How _are you here by yourself?" She asked worried.

Anna put her hand up. "We need to go, please. I'll explain in the car."

"Very well." Jenny said leading the girl to her car. Anna settled into the passenger seat and let her head fall back on the head rest. Jenny started the car and began to drive out of the parking lot.

"Okay, were in the car. Spill." She said waiting for a reply. "Anna?" She looked over and saw the young girl asleep. If she had traveled all this way on her own, no wonder she was tired.

Jenny wasn't quite sure what to do next. Should she drive back to D.C.? Should she send Anna back on a plane to Florida? She had to find a way to get a hold of her grandma. She looked over to Anna. The girl obviously was in need. So Jenny decided to take her back to D.C. They would discuss the situation there.

* * *

About a half hour passed when Jenny's cell phone started to ring. She looked over to Anna who was starting to wake up from the ringing. She looked at the caller I.D. She was going to kill that man.

"What is it Jethro?" She answered cold.

_"Are you okay?"_ He asked.

"Jethro I'm fine. I'm actually on my way back to D.C. now."

She heard a loud breath being exhaled on the other line and then, _"Thank God. Call me when you're back in D.C."_

"I will." She said as she hung up the phone once again.

"Who's Jethro?" Anna asked quietly with her hands in her lap.

"Do you remember in Florida at the hospital when I was there visiting a friend?" She asked keeping her eyes on the road.

"Yeah." She whispered.

"That's him." She nodded.

Anna nodded to herself and looked out the window.

Jenny noticed something was off. This wasn't that sweet smiling little girl she met in Florida two years ago. This girl was clearly upset and hasn't smiled once since Jenny picked her up at the airport.

Jenny sighed. "So are you going to tell me why you are miles and miles away from home all alone?"

Anna looked down at her lap and hesitated before saying, "My grandma, she's dead. She had a heart attack about month ago."

"Oh honey I'm so sorry." Jenny said wishing she could hug her at that moment. "But why did you run away?"

Anna looked out the window, watching all the trees fly by as fast as lightning. "She was the only family I had left. When she died, the police took me to an orphanage for foster children. I stayed there as long as I could Jenny, but I couldn't take it any longer. They were nothing but cruel to me and I felt like an outsider in a place that was supposed to be called my home. So a couple of nights ago I climbed out my window when everyone was asleep and ran as far as I could. No turning back. I got as far as the train station and snuck on the train without being noticed. When I got to the airport in Florida, I used the rest of my hundred bucks that I brought to the orphanage with me on a flight. Airport security questioned me asking why I was buying a plane ticket if I was so young. I just told them that my mom was already in Virginia and she told me to buy a ticket to go to her. They were skeptical, but allowed me on the plane."

Jenny was shocked. "How old are you?"

"Ten, I'll be turning eleven in a few weeks." She stated staring straight ahead at the road.

Jenny just drove with her mouth open wide. She didn't know what to say. This was way too much information to process at once. She couldn't believe that this ten year old girl had gotten all the way from Florida, to Virginia without being stopped. "So what were you planning to do?" She asked.

"Well, I was gonna start a new life. I can't go back to Florida. By now, the police are probably looking everywhere for me. They probably have my picture everywhere." She paused. "Unless, they haven't noticed. Maybe they have noticed, but they don't even care that I'm gone. They probably figure that my life in ruined anyway. No family, no friends, so why bother looking for me? I'm just worthless." She sighed.

Jenny slowed down the car to an almost normal speed. "Anna, that's not true. You are not worthless. Don't you worry okay? I'm going to take you back to my house, and we are gonna figure this out together. I won't make you go back to that orphanage, but we have to figure out what to do sweetie."

Anna nodded. Looking up, she saw that they were pulling into a driveway that belonged to the huge, beautiful house on the other end. "Woah." She said to herself.

Jenny laughed at Anna's shocked face. "Here we are." She said putting the car into park and taking out the keys.

Anna unbuckled her seat belt and stepped out of the car, never taking her eyes off of the house standing before her. "This is your house? It's incredible."

Jenny laughed, "Being the head of a federal agency has its perks."

* * *

**I hope you loved it! Sorry it took so long to update. This was a tough one to write. XOXO**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: CBS said 'No way' when I asked to have the characters.**

**A/N Sorry that this is super short. Don't forget to review, ENJOY:)**

* * *

Anna woke with an uneasy feeling. She looked around to see that she was in a huge bedroom with satin bed sheets and the smell of warm vanilla roaming through the air. Once she was fully awake she got up and got some clothes out of her bag. She got dressed and slowly made her way downstairs. Once she reached the last step she saw a woman that she had never seen before.

The woman looked at her and smiled. "Hola, you must be Anna no?"

Anna nodded slowly when she heard footsteps migrate down the same steps that she had just walked down.

"Good morning Anna, this is Naomi. She lives with me." Jenny said putting her hand on Anna's shoulder gently.

"Morning Jenny." The young girl smiled still eyeing Naomi up and down.

"Senora Shepherd, there is coffee made on the table and your bag is over by the door. Have a _muy bien_ day at work." Naomi said and walked back into the kitchen.

Anna turned to Jenny, "Is she your maid?"

Jenny smiled, "Something like that. Now I have to go to work today. Would you be okay staying here with Naomi?"

Anna tensed up and felt nervous. Jenny could tell and said, "It's okay, you can come with me. It'll be fun."

Anna relaxed and followed Jenny.

* * *

Once they got to NCIS, Anna's eyes widened at the building. "This is where you work?"

Jenny smiled, "Yep."

"This is so cool." She said following Jenny into the building. They walked up to the front desk in the lobby and there were two men dressed in police uniforms and they both smiled at Jenny. "Good morning Director. Nice weather this morning huh?"

Jenny smiled, "Good morning Carl. Yes it is lovely outside today. To bad I'll be stuck in meetings all day." She nodded.

The man laughed, "Who is this pretty young lady, Director?" Carl the policeman asked. Anna backed up and stood behind Jenny feeling frightened.

Jenny took her hand. "This is Anna. She's from Florida and she'll be hanging out around here more often."

Carl nodded and smiled, "Well, have a nice day you two."

They walked away and got into the elevator.

Anna turned to Jenny, "You're the boss of this whole building and everyone in it?"

Jenny nodded, "Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah, it sure is."

* * *

They stepped out of the elevator and walked towards a group of desks. Anna saw a lady with beautiful brown hair, trying to reading something on her phone, a man sitting across from her trying to get her attention by throwing paper balls at her, another guy with headphones on playing something on his computer, and finally, an older man with grey hair leaning back in his chair drinking coffee. The older man looked up and his eyes lit up. "Jen." He said sounding relieved walking towards them.

"Jethro, I have a lot of work to do today. I will talk to you later." Jenny said taking Anna's arm and leading her away to the stairs. Anna looked back and saw the hurt and confusion in the grey haired man's eyes.

They walked up the steps and into an office. The name on the desk said 'Director Shepherd'. "Who was that man downstairs that tried to talk to you?" Anna questioned.

Jenny turned around, "That was Jethro, the man that was in the hospital." Anna nodded.

Jenny put down her bags and quickly checked her messages. When she was finished she walked over to Anna and turned back to the door. "Where are we going?" The girl asked.

"I have a very important meeting this morning, so you are going to hang out with my friend Abby. She is the forensic scientist for NCIS. I think you'll love her." Jenny smiled.

* * *

They took the elevator down and walked into a lab. The first thing that Anna noticed was the insanely loud music ringing through her ears. Jenny ran over and turned the music off. "Forgot to warn you about that." She smiled

"Hey!" A woman in all black whined.

"Abby, this is Anna. She is staying with me for a little while. I have a meeting and I need you to watch after her please? Only for a little while." Jenny asked.

Abby looked at the little girl and smiled, "Of course! We're gonna have so much fun!"

Anna half-smiled, unsure of what to think of the perky Goth standing in front of her.

"Behave you two. I'll be back in a couple of hours." Jenny said walking out of the lab.

* * *

**Please please review:) Thanks for reading! XOXO**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters:/ So sad.**

**A/N Please PLEASE review. I want to know what you think so far.**

* * *

'This is so boring.' Jenny thought. She was sitting in the front row of MTAC, bored out of her mind. SECNAV and a naval commander were on the screen discussing the latest undercover operation going on between NCIS and the FBI. She was so tired, not even her coffee was helping her this time. She got no sleep last night. She was too busy thinking about Anna and what her next move would be. She couldn't just let the girl hide out in her home for the rest of her life. She knew that she had to call the Florida police to let them know that she was safe. On the other hand, what kind of a 'friend' would she be to Anna if she sent her back to Florida where she would be unhappy? The other thing on her mind was Gibbs, the man that had her heart. It wasn't that she had been ignoring him; it's just that her fiancé has been so difficult lately. It's like all of the sudden, he's mad at the world. She wanted him back to the way he had been before they had gotten engaged. She needed him to be happy again.

* * *

_It was a late Friday afternoon in Washington DC. Jenny and Gibbs had decided to go see a movie. Every night for the past several months, their 'dates' were sitting on the small couch in Gibbs' house watching re-runs of The Dukes of Hazzard. Although it was nice to be alone after long days at work, they decided that they needed to get out this night, so Jenny had opted for a movie in town. There wasn't much playing so they just picked one at random. The showing of 'Titanic' had won. They climbed the theater stairs and sat in the way back. They sat down and instantly wrapped their arms around each other like it was the most natural thing in the world to them. They were barely paying attention to the heart pounding action going on in front of them on the large screen. They were too busy enjoying each other's warmth 'without' sitting on that damn couch, and at that moment, it was like they were the only two people in that theater, in the world._

* * *

Jenny came out of her thoughts overhearing the two men on the screen saying their goodbyes to Jenny. She hadn't had a clue what they had been talking about, but she didn't worry about it much because there was an NCIS agent that had been sitting behind her the whole time taking notes. "Thought you might need a refill." Came the low voice of the man that she was totally in love with. He held out a cup of coffee to her. She took the coffee with a smile and motioned for Gibbs to sit down next to her. "How is your morning going Jethro?" She asked staring ahead at the dark screen.

"It would've been better if I had woken up with you next to me. Are you gonna tell me what's been going on? Why have you been avoiding me Jen?" He questioned in a low, patient tone.

She sighed, "I am not avoiding you Jethro; I love you. I am just dealing with a lot right now. Things have come up that need to be attended to and I don't have a lot of free time."

"Who was that girl that came in with you?"

Jenny paused and thought about the words that she would use very carefully. "Her name is Anna."

Gibbs was silent, motioning with his eyes for her to go on and continue. When he saw no indication of Jenny planning on explaining any further, he sighed. "Is that all that you're going to tell me Jen?"

She shook her head, "I met her in Florida a couple years ago when you got hit by that truck." She said allowing the painful memories of that night to flood back, but she continued anyway. "Her parents died that night in a car accident. She was sitting in the hallway alone, lost. I helped her find her grandmother." She paused pushing the tears back behind her eyes. "Last night she called me. She needed help. So that's exactly what I did. I'm sorry I have been shutting you out today Jethro. This is just a lot to wrap my head around at once. This little girl lost her grandmother, was forced into an orphanage, and ran away all by herself. Did I mention that she is only ten years old?"

Jethro looked down, not knowing what to say. He put his arm around his soon-to-be wife and pulled her into a hug. "Why didn't you just tell me that last night?"

She sighed once again. "I didn't want to worry you. Although not answering most of your calls probably didn't help. She called me from Virginia, Jethro. I had to get to her as fast as I could. For all I knew at the time she could've been hurt. She could've been running from some crazy killer. I didn't know what I was walking into."

Gibbs nodded, "Okay, I understand. Sorry for hovering last night, but will you please stay over my place tonight? You have no idea how lonely it is there without you. The girl-"He paused looking at Jenny questioning.

"Anna." She stated, answering his unspoken question.

He nodded again. "Right, Anna can stay in the guest room."

Jenny kept silent a moment to think. Would bringing Anna to Gibbs' house be a good idea? Not that he would be anything but nice to the young girl, but is Anna ready to meet someone new just yet? She'd seen how scared she was even meeting Naomi. Naomi was the nicest person and was never rude or loud. Jenny knew that Anna was going through a lot of stress right now. Maybe bringing her to Gibbs' house wasn't such a good idea. Although, she had told Anna a lot about him, maybe she would feel more comfortable with him because Jenny talked about him. She looked back to Gibbs and smiled.

"I would want nothing more than to spend the night with you tonight, but if you don't mind sweetie, I think I should ask Anna first and make sure that she's comfortable with it okay?"

"I understand Jen." He smiled, kissed her gently on her lips and got up to leave MTAC when Jenny spoke up once again getting his attention. "I love you." She said, not caring about the other technicians currently on the other side of the room working at the computers and monitoring systems.

He looked back at her and smiled lovingly. "I love you too. I will understand if Anna doesn't want to stay at my place tonight, but if she doesn't, can you at least come down to my desk and say goodnight before you leave today?"

"I promise." Jenny nodded watching her fiancé, lover, and best friend walk away.

* * *

After another several more moments of thinking, Jenny got up out of her seat and walked out of MTAC. She walked towards the elevator, glancing down stairs at Gibbs working hard at his desk and she smiled. She got into the elevator and sent the metal box down to Abby's lab. She hoped that Anna was okay. She had dropped her off with Abby without any warnings.

She walked into the lab and was surprised when she heard no music. "Abby?" She called and got momentarily nervous when she got no reply. She walked further into the lab and headed back towards Abby's office. She stood in front of the clear doors, just smiling at the sight on the other side of the glass.

She saw Abby and Anna sitting on the floor laughing hysterically. Jenny couldn't help but laugh too. The funniest part of this sight was that it seemed as though Abby had decided to play 'dress up' with Anna. The little girl was sitting on the floor, her golden blonde hair in two high pigtails; she had black eye makeup and black lipstick.

Jenny walked through the doors and laughed at the two girls. "Black looks good on you Anna." She smiled. Anna turned around and jumped up hugging Jenny. "You've been gone for so long." She said.

Jenny nodded, "Sorry about that, my meeting ran a little longer than I had expected. Did you have fun?"

Anna jumped up and down, "Yes! I love Abby she's so nice! She taught me how to put on makeup." She smiled running back to hug Abby. 'This is the sweet, little, happy girl she met two years ago.' Jenny thought to herself. She was glad that Abby was able to bring that sparkle back into Anna's eyes. "I'm glad you had fun, Anna. Abby, were you able to get any work done on the case for Agent Gibbs?" Jenny asked transforming into the director side of her.

Abby nodded, "I did. Actually, Anna helped out a lot. She helped me run facial recognitions and fingerprints through AFIS."

Jenny chuckled. "Good work, make sure you brief Agent Gibbs' team."

Abby nodded. "Yes ma'am." She saluted earning a cute laugh from Anna.

Jenny took Anna's hand and walked her into the elevator. "Abby is so cool." Anna said as they entered the elevator.

Jenny smiled. "Yes she is." She said pulling an unused tissue from her pocket and gently wiping the Goth make up off of Anna's face. "Not that you didn't look beautiful in that makeup, but it hides your gorgeous eyes."

Anna smiled, "Can I keep the pigtails?" She asked with puppy dog eyes.

Jenny nodded. "Of course."

They walked out of the elevator and back into Jenny's office. "Okay Anna, now I have some very important paperwork to do, so would you be okay sitting over there on the couch? I can put the TV on for you." Jenny smiled.

Anna nodded and jumped over to the couch excited.

* * *

About an hour passed and Jenny was still sitting at her desk. She was done her work for right now and she was currently fighting to stay awake. She was trying to focus her eyes on the girl sitting across the room. Anna's eyes were still glued to the TV as she watched the Disney Channel.

Soon, Jenny lost the battle against sleep and allowed her eyelids to close, falling into a much needed, deep sleep. When the commercials came on, Anna looked back over to Jenny to see that she had fallen asleep. She walked over to the desk and quietly grabbed the TV remote from beside Jenny. She walked back over to the couch, turned the volume down a little, and turned on the news. She loved watching the news. Since she was young, not a lot of people let her know what kind of things the world was facing. They didn't think that she was mature enough to know, but the news was the only thing that allowed her to feel a part of the outside world.

She lay back on the couch, putting her feet up, and enjoyed the warmth of the room. After about a half an hour passed, Anna sat up on the couch so fast that she could feel her brains being tussled and thrown around. Her eyes went as wide as they could as she stared at what made her jump up. There was an article on the news of a missing ten year old girl from Florida. "Florida state police are asking that if you know anything about the whereabouts of this young child, you are to call 911 immediately. Anna supposedly stuck out of her room late at night and has gone missing." The news reporter said. She replayed the voice on the TV over and over in her head when Jenny's office door opened and the older man from downstairs walked in looking at Jenny, then over at Anna. "How long has she been asleep?" The man asked.

Anna hesitated, let out the breath that she didn't know she had been holding on to, and spoke quietly. "Almost an hour."

The man nodded moving over to Jenny's desk. Anna watched as he took his coat off and gently covered it over Jenny. "You must be Anna." He said walking over to her. Anna nodded and felt herself get a little more comfortable.

"Mind if I sit down?" He asked motioning to the spot on the couch next to Anna.

Anna once again nodded and didn't say a word. The man sat down and she waited for him to speak.

"I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs. You can call me Gibbs, or Jethro, which ever you like." He smiled.

She smiled back. "I like Gibbs. It's a weird name."

Gibbs looked at her pretending to be offended by her comment. Anna put her hands up, "But weird in a good way." She laughed.

"You've met Abby?" He asked her.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Anna asked settling back into the couch a little more.

Gibbs motioned to her hair. "That's an Abby hair-do if I've ever seen one." He laughed.

Anna laughed with him and they both fell silent for a moment.

"You're, you're the man from the hospital?" Anna hesitated to ask but already knew the answer.

Gibbs nodded, "Yep, that's me."

"Are you feeling better? I mean I know it's been two years but, you know." Anna questioned.

"I'm all better. Good as new." He said. "I got a pretty mean scar on my back, but I'm still alive so I'm not complaining." Gibbs smiled.

"Scars are scary." Anna said looking into the man's eyes.

Gibbs tilted his head a little. "Scary?"

She nodded. "They're scary because they're a reminder of the pain. I feel bad when I see someone with a scar."

Gibbs thought for a moment. "That's true, but I have much worse scars from when I was in the Marines. However, _those _scars aren't a reminder of pain. They're a reminder of why I am living." He smiled.

"I don't understand. How do the remind you of why you are living?" Anna asked.

"They remind me that I'm here on this Earth to do good for this country, and to fight for our freedom. That's all I've ever tried to do."

Anna smiled. "You were a marine?"

Gibbs nodded.

"My Daddy was a marine. He said that the Marines were like his second family."

Gibbs nodded again. "If your Daddy was a marine, then he must've been a real nice guy. Wish I could've gotten the opportunity to meet him."

Anna smiled. "You're a nice guy Gibbs."

Gibbs chuckled, "Well you should try convincing that to some of the agents here." He paused. "Did Jen ask you about tonight?"

"What about tonight?" She asked.

"Jen and I wanted to know if you'd be okay staying over at my place tonight. It's not as fancy as Jen's house, but it works." He nodded.

Anna thought, not sure of what to say. "Will Jenny be there too?"

Gibbs laughed, "Of course she will. She wouldn't just leave you alone. She knows how stressed you are right now." He smiled at her.

Anna chuckled. "Okay, I'd love to! Just one question." Anna said.

"Okay what?" Gibbs asked.

"Can we have pizza for dinner?"

* * *

**Hope you liked it:) XOXO**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: CBS owns the characters not me:( **

**A/N Thank you for the reviews and PM's that this story has gotten so far. Also, there is a ****_hint _****at sexual contact in this chapter but trust me, it's still PG-13, ENJOY:)**

* * *

It was around 9:30 at night when Gibbs walked through his front door. He had left the office a little earlier than Jenny had, so he could have time to straighten up a bit. He cleared up the coffee table and removed the boxes that sat in front of the TV in case Anna would want to watch a movie. He headed up stairs and cleaned up a little in the guest bedroom for Anna. There wasn't much to clean but he wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible. After all, the poor child had no family left. He grabbed clean sheets from the closet and placed them on the bed when he heard his front door open and the sound of high heels clicking and clacking on his hardwood flooring. "Jethro?" The owner of the high heels called for him.

He closed the bedroom door and walked downstairs to see Anna and Jenny standing in the middle of the living room. "Hey Guys." He smiled walking to Jenny and giving her a hug.

"Hi Gibbs." Anna said with a smile. He gave her a smile and turned back to Jenny. "Get all your work done?" He asked.

Jenny nodded. "It was time consuming, but I did it." She said. "Are you tired Anna?" She asked placing a hand on the child's back.

Anna shook her head. "Not at all. Gibbs promised me that we could have pizza for dinner tonight." She jumped excited.

Jenny shot a smirk in Gibbs' direction. "He did, did he?" She smiled.

Gibbs just shot her an innocent smile. "Well how about Gibbs takes you to where you will be sleeping tonight and I'll order that pizza okay?" Jenny asked turning back to Anna.

Anna nodded. Gibbs took Anna's bags and led her up to the guest room. "This is it." He smiled. "Like I said it's not much, and it's certainly not Jenny's place, but it works."

Anna looked around and admired the baby blue wall coloring. "It's beautiful." She said turning towards him. "Thank you for letting me stay, I love it."

"It's no problem. Any friend of Jen's, is a friend of mine." He smiled again.

She nodded. "You and Jenny remind me a lot of my Mommy and Daddy."

"Oh really? How so?" Gibbs asked sitting down on the bed.

"They motivated each other. Anything that Mommy did, gave Dad the strength to do something bigger, and vice versa, kinda like you two." She smiled.

Gibbs stared at her. "You know, for a ten year old, you have quite the knowledge. When I was ten, I don't even think I knew what the word 'motivated' meant. You are one smart girl Anna."

She chuckled and blushed. "Thanks Gibbs."

* * *

"Pizza's here!" They heard Jenny yell from downstairs. Anna jumped at the thought of food and immediately ran down the stairs with Gibbs not far behind her. "I haven't had pizza in so long." She said taking in the scent of the pie. Jenny and Gibbs laughed to themselves and helped Anna get a slice on her plate. They all sat down and ate the pizza. Anna told Jenny and Gibbs more about herself, like how her favorite color is pink, and how when she was in 3rd grade she won the state grade school art contest.

* * *

When they were finished the pizza Jenny stood up. "Okay Anna, time for you to go to bed." She smiled.

Anna sighed but got up too. "Can I have a glass of water first?"

Jenny nodded, went into the kitchen, poured her a glass, and handed it to Anna watching her drink every last sip. "Thank you." Anna said.

Jenny took her hand and walked with her up to Anna's bedroom. Anna got in bed and Jenny pulled the covers over her. "Goodnight Anna." She smiled through the darkness. She left the room and closed the door behind her. She walked back to the living room to find it empty. She went straight to the basement and found Gibbs sitting on the bench with a rose in his hand. "You found me." He winked with a smile.

She slowly walked towards him, grabbed the rose and set it down on the table next to them. She pulled Gibbs into a loving hug and kissed him until she ran out of air. "I missed you last night." She said.

Gibbs chuckled. "You're telling me." He winked pulling her back into another long, deep kiss.

Gibbs pulled away with joy and lust now present in his eyes. "How about we take this little party up stairs to the bedroom?" He smirked.

Jenny shook her head. "Or, we could just continue it right here." She smiled seductively.

He grinned and pushed her back gently under the shell of his boat, never breaking the kiss they were currently working on. Jenny began sliding her hand up Gibbs' shirt to remove it when,

"Jenny?" A voice from the top of the stairs whispered, causing the two under the boat to freeze. Jenny stood up, straightened her clothing and walked to the stairs. "Yes Anna, is everything okay?"

"I don't feel good. My stomach hurts." She spoke softly.

Jenny climbed the stairs with Gibbs still close behind her. "Too much pizza?" She smiled.

Anna nodded. "Guess that's why I haven't had it in a while." She shrugged.

Jenny walked to the kitchen cabinets and got out some liquid Tylenol that Jethro had bought her a few months ago. She handed the cup to Anna and made sure that she emptied it.

"Good, now let's get you back into bed. The medicine will start working soon, I promise." Jenny smiled.

Anna nodded and went back up to bed.

Once he heard her door close shut, Gibbs cleared his throat and grinned at Jenny. "So, where were we?" He smiled even bigger.

Jenny looked at him and said. "_We _were just about to go to bed. I'm tired and I have another meeting with SECNAV tomorrow." She smirked as she walked into the main bedroom and jumped into bed, covering herself with the blankets.

Gibbs frowned. "Not fair, you can't just get a man all excited like that and then just leave it and walk away." He whined.

Jenny turned over on her side and pulled him into bed next to her getting him excited again. She kissed him and said, "Goodnight Jethro, I love you." Then turned back around and closed her eyes falling asleep.

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading! I need to know what you guys are thinking so far. Is this story a hit or a miss? XOXO**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: CBS owns the characters not me:( **

**A/N Thank you for the reviews and PM's that this story has gotten so far, ENJOY:)**

* * *

The morning sunlight shining on her face woke Jenny up gently. She reaches her arm out to wrap around her fiancé, but she soon found out that he wasn't there when she felt the spot next to her, cold and deserted. She got up and headed into the bathroom to get dressed.

Once she was dressed and had her hair done, she walked down the hall to Anna's room.

She entered the room to find _that_ bed deserted too. 'Where is everyone?' She thought.

She turned to the steps and gracefully descended them to find Anna sitting on the couch watching the news. "Hi Jenny!" She said excited to see her.

"Hi Anna, did you sleep well?" Jenny asked.

Anna nodded.

"How is your stomach feeling this morning?"

"Much better." Anna said.

Jenny smiled, turned around, and walked into the kitchen to find coffee already made on the table. Next to the coffee was a note that read, '_Went into work early. See you there.' _

She smiled and sat down to drink her coffee.

Anna came into the kitchen shortly after and sat in the chair across from Jenny. "Do you like it?" Anna asked motioning to Jenny's coffee cup.

Jenny nodded. "Very much, why?" She asked.

Anna sat up straight. "Because me and Gibbs made it for you. He said that you couldn't function without it." She said proudly.

"Oh thank you sweetie, it's delightful."

Anna laughed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Jenny answered.

Anna paused. "How was your childhood? What were your parents like? I had a dream last night about my Mom and Dad and I was wondering what your parents were like."

Jenny leaned closer into the table and put her coffee cup down. "Well, I grew up in a rough time. My family hardly had enough money for clothes, but we had a roof over our heads and that is all that we cared about. My mom was my best friend. She was very caring and protective. She was the most loving person I knew. I could go to her and tell her anything, it was great. My dad; He was hard on me. He pushed me; sometimes he pushed me too far past my limits. He always wanted me to be tough." She explained.

"Your mom sounds like my aunt." Anna smiled.

Jenny sat up. "You have an aunt?"

"She was my best friend just like your mom." Anna said ignoring the question. "She would always come over every day so that my parents could go to work. We always had so much fun when she came over. We'd finger paint and watch TV and laugh. But one day, she was late showing up so my mom stayed with me while my dad went somewhere to try and find her. When he came back he said that Aunt Christi went away on a long vacation. It wasn't until a couple years later that I found out the truth. My aunt was kidnapped while she was walking over to my house. The police never found her and I never saw her again."

Jenny just stared.

"So what do you have to do at work today?" Anna said obviously changing the subject.

Jenny blinked. "I have an important meeting today so as soon as we get to NCIS, I'm going to bring you straight to Abby's lab okay?"

"Yay!" Anna said, excited to see Abby again.

"No black makeup this time." Jenny laughed getting up and grabbing her keys.

* * *

They got to NCIS headquarters and Jenny said her usual 'good morning' to the security guard at the front desk. They went in to the elevator and Jenny took Anna right to Abby's lab like she had promised.

The usual loud music could be heard before the elevator doors even opened. Which was loud, even for Abby.

Once the doors were open, Anna flew out and ran into Abby's lab.

Jenny smiled and thanked Abby. She got back into the elevator and went straight to her office.

She still had a few hours until her follow up meeting with SECNAV that afternoon. She hadn't seen Gibbs yet and she was too comfortable in her desk chair to get up and go visit him at his desk.

She thought for a moment and then picked up her desk phone. She pulled out a note from her pocket and dialed the number that was written on it. After a few rings she heard:

_"Florida State police, what is your emergency?" _A male voice spoke.

"Hello my name is Jennifer Shepherd and I am the director of NCIS. I am currently in Washington DC and I have heard that your police have been trying to locate a young girl by the name of Anna." Jenny said calmly and professionally.

_"That is correct Director. Do you have any information on_ the _whereabouts of the child that I could pass along to the police?" _

_"_Yes I do. Anna is with me. We met a couple years ago in Florida and the other day she called me to ask me to come pick her up from the Virginia airport." Jenny explained.

There was a pause on the other line. "_Thank you ma'am for letting us know. We will make arrangements for the child to be brought back to her orphanage in Florida." _

"That won't be necessary sir. She is in good care and she has made it very clear that she does not want to return to her orphanage." She said.

"_I'm sorry Director but rules are rules. You do not have any legal custody rights over the child and therefore, she must be brought back to Florida. Thank you for your call. Please have the child ready as soon as possible. We will send Washington DC police." _The operator said right before hanging up.

"Damn." Jenny cursed slamming the phone down. She hit the button to her intercom.

"Cynthia can you please call Agent Gibbs up, and tell him it's urgent."

"Yes Director of course." Her assistant said peacefully and lowly.

* * *

In the squad room, Agent Gibbs and his team were sitting quietly at their desks, doing reports on cold case files. Ziva was just finishing up her current file. Tony was looking at the files, but not registering anything into his brain because he was too caught up thinking about his date the night before. McGee was hard at work on his files, hoping that they wouldn't get a case. McGee's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Gibbs' desk phone ringing.

McGee sighed in fear that it would be a case.

When Gibbs hung up the phone, he stood up and walked out of the bullpen saying, "I'll be back." Causing McGee to let out a huge breathe of relief.

* * *

Gibbs walked through the doors of Jenny's office, not bothering to knock. "Hey." Gibbs greeted. "How's your morning going?" He asked hugging her.

She pulled away from his touch and stared him in the eyes. "I just spoke to the Florida State Police, Jethro. They want to send Anna back to Florida." She said wanting so desperately to punch something.

Gibbs took a step back. "Well, it was nice getting to meet her. She is a special little girl."

Jenny's eyes turned red with fire in her eyes. "No Jethro! I will not let them take her back to that orphanage!" She yelled.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I knew that you would get too close to this, Jen."

Jenny was taken aback. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you want kids so bad, and now that one suddenly shows up, you won't let it go."

"It? You know _it _has a name, Jethro. _Its _name is _Anna._ And Anna was just starting to begin to trust you."

Gibbs gave her one of his famous glares. "What do you want me to do Jenny? What do you want me to say? _You're _the one that just took her off the streets and neglected to call the police when you first found out that she ran away. You need to think about the _Anna _and what's best for her! "

"Going back into that orphanage where she is ignored and not taken care of properly is _not _what's best for her, Jethro! You're supposed to be my fiancé! Why don't you start acting like it?" Jenny screamed. "I promised this little girl that I would not let them take her back and I would like it if just _once_, you stood behind me and fought _with _me instead of _against _me. This is something that I feel strongly about Jethro, and I am counting on you to just stop acting like you don't care all the time, and help me."

Gibbs face turned completely red and he was about to burst out in screams toward the red head, but was interrupted when Jenny's phone rang.

Jenny calmed herself down enough to answer. "Director Shepherd." She said with anger in her tone.

She paused listening to the other line of the conversation. "What? Abby slow down and tell me what happened." She paused again. "Okay Abby thanks for letting me know." She said as she hung up the phone.

Jenny turned back to Gibbs. "That was Abby. Ten minutes ago the Washington DC police came into her lab and took Anna. I have to go to the police station and find out what they are planning to do with her." She said heading for the door but then turning back to the man that she was just screaming at. "Here's your chance Jethro. Are you gonna come with me and back me up, or am I alone on this?"

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading! I need to know what you guys are thinking so far XOXO**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Not my characters yada yada yada.. ENJOY:)**

**A/N Any suggestions on a one-shot?**

* * *

_I remember there was a time that we never fought. I remember how kind and caring he was to me. What happened? It's always so unpredictable with him. One second he wants to love me and the next he's screaming. I just want my old Jethro back, and I thought maybe, just maybe, that Anna would help get him back to his old self. But I guess I was wrong. I never thought that I would ever second guess the idea of marrying this man and spending the rest of my life with him, but I was wrong about that too. I understand that work has been hard for him the last few months, but that does not give him a reason to shut me out. Why can't he just for once stand behind me be the fiancé he's supposed to be? I miss him. This man that I see now isn't my fiancé. He can't be my fiancé, because the man that I agreed to marry would've came with me to the police station to help get Anna back. But here I am, alone, fighting for what I believe in, without him. Without my fiancé._

* * *

"Can I help you ma'am?" The voice of a middle aged woman said, breaking through Jenny's thought process.

Jenny looked at the woman dressed in a police uniform and said, "I'm looking for a little girl by the name of Anna."

"I assume that you mean Anna Carlton? She is staying the night with child services until the police can contact her orphanage." The woman answered.

"Well that's the problem officer. My name is Jenny Shepherd and I am the director of NCIS. That little girl ran away and chose to come to me for help, and I will not allow you to send her back to that orphanage. She claims that they do not take good care of her and as the head of a federal agency, I will not allow her to be returned to that orphanage without a proper investigation constructed." Jenny shook her head.

The officer held her hand up in defense. "Look Director Shepherd. All I know is that you cannot see her. You are neither a guardian nor a relative of the child so therefore, she may not be released into your custody. The police will be bringing her in tomorrow morning to arrange for her to be placed on a flight back to Florida. If you wish to, you can come back in the morning and speak to her, but she _is _going back to Florida. Anna Carlton is not NCIS' responsibility since she has no connection to the Navy." She finished.

Jenny couldn't go home. She just couldn't. "I'm staying here until I see her." She said as she sat down in one of the chairs they had in the lobby area. "And for the record, her father was a marine." The female officer just looked at her for a moment and then returned to the work that Jenny had interrupted.

* * *

_"Jen, you cannot control what happens to this child." _

_"You don't understand Jethro! While __**you **__were in the hospital fighting for your life, that little girl gave me the hope and strength that I had been lacking in that situation. Her safety means a lot to me Jethro!" She screamed._

_He started her in the eyes. "At what cost Jen? That girl is not your responsibility, and she certainly isn't mine! I didn't ask for you to just take a runway under your wing, so why do you assume that I'm going to back you up?!" _

_Jenny became furious. "Because you're my fiancé!" _

_"Yeah? Well maybe I shouldn't be."_

* * *

She jerked awake with a gasp. She shook her head trying to force the bad dream out of her memory. Gibbs wouldn't do that to her, would he?

"Director Shepherd." The officer from last night said from her desk.

Jenny stood up and walked over to the desk. "Where is she?"

"She left about an hour ago."

"What!? You told me that I could see her before she left for Florida!" She slammed her fist onto the desk causing the woman on the other side to jump.

The officer shook her head. "No Director, the child is not in Florida. A man came by this morning. He said that he was running an investigation that somehow involved her. So he took Anna with him. He told us to not wake you."

Jenny was very confused. "Did this _man _have a name?" She asked.

The officer nodded her head once and looked through some papers on her desk. "Special Agent Gibbs, from NCIS. He said that he was in charge of locating the girl's aunt on an unspecified case."

Jenny's eyes widened. "That sneaky bastard." She said running out to her car.

* * *

**Hope you loved it! XOXO**


	8. ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi everyone. I am deepy sorry that I have not been updating. I was in a major accident and am currently in the hospital but I promise I will be updating soon. Thank you to everyone for being so patient.

~Angel


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Not my characters unfortunately. ENJOY :)**

**A/N Thank you for all of your patience. I am actually still currently in the hospital. I am not sure when I'll be able to leave. I am doing better though. A few ribs were injured and I got a pretty nasty head injury, but the doctors are allowing me to use my laptop while I am here. Now we can get back to normal updates :)**

* * *

She ran into the house barging through the doors. She had no idea what was going on. She heard laughter coming from the basement and ran down as quickly as she could.

She walked down the steps in the same clothes she wore yesterday.

"Jenny!" Anna said running up to her and giving her a hug.

Jenny smiled and returned the hug giving Gibbs a questioning look. He gave her a slight smile and she looked back down at Anna. "Why don't you go up to the living room and watch some TV. I'll be up in a minute okay?" She suggested patting her on the head. Anna nodded and skipped upstairs happily."

Once Jenny saw that the little girl was out of the basement she looked at Gibbs. He was just sitting there. He had a smile on his face. She slowly walked over to him and sat next to him. "How?" Was the first thing she had said to him.

Gibbs shrugged. "I'm a federal agent. I know my way around the law. And besides, I know this means a lot to you; being able to take care of her."

She nodded and they sat in silence for a while, neither of them had any idea what they should say.

After a while Gibbs spoke up quietly. "Yes," He said.

Jenny looked at him confused. "What?"

He lifted his head up and sighed. "Last night," He paused to fiddle with his hands. "You asked me if I was going to back you up, or if I was going to leave you alone on this. The answer is yes."

Jenny shook her head. "I don't understand. You didn't come to the police station with me."

Gibbs took her hand into his own and said, "Jenifer Shepherd, you should know by now that no matter what, I will always back you up. Last night I was tired. I really don't have a great excuse. Actually, I don't have any excuse at all. But I can say this; I love you now and for many years to come. As your fiancé, I find it my job to tell you when you're in over your head, and I would only hope you'd do the same for me. But please don't ever think that I won't have your back." He paused again. "Last night I should've realized how much that child means to you and I'm sorry. I should've treated the situation with more respect that I did." He looked back down at his free hand.

Jenny squeezed his hand smiling. "Now it's my turn," She said smiling. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I have loved you for so long and I promise to love you until the die that I die. As _your _fiancé, I shouldn't have yelled at you the way I did last night and I am sorry. I guess deep down I knew that you wouldn't have let me down."

Gibbs let go of her hand and stood up. "Never," He shook his head. "I will never let you down."

"Jenny! Gibbs!" They heard Anna call from upstairs.

They held hands once again and slowly walked the stairs together. Anna was sitting on the couch and smiling at them. "What are we going to do today?" She asked.

Jenny stepped over to the couch. "Well, I have a quick meeting that should only take about an hour so you can go to Abby's lab. Other than that you can hang out with me in my office."

"Actually," Gibbs interrupted. "If you don't mind Jenny, I was thinking that I took take Anna for the day. Show her what the agents do."

Jenny smiled at him. "Anna?" She said turning towards the girl. "What do you think?"

Anna was nodding her head at lightning speed with the biggest smile. Jenny turned back to face Gibbs. "Okay then, it looks like you and Anna are going to be doing some bonding today." She laughed.

* * *

They got to work and Anna went with Gibbs to the squad room. He introduced her to the other agents on his team and gave her a chair to sit in by his desk. They spent most of the day talking and walking around. Gibbs brought her down to autopsy; he called first and had told Ducky to make sure that any bodies were put away. She loved it. She thought Ducky was hilarious but after a while Gibbs told the doctor that they had to go in order to save her from one of Ducky's stories.

* * *

They were now sitting at Gibbs' desk. It was close to 5 o'clock and the rest of his team was packing their things up to go home.

Once everyone emptied the bullpen, Gibbs looked to Anna. "Do you have any other family members you can think of?" He asked curiously.

Anna thought for a moment and said, "Well, I know that I have an aunt, but I'm not sure where she is. She went missing a while ago." She looked up and told him the whole story that she had told Jenny yesterday.

Gibbs sat for a moment; thinking to himself. "What if I said that I could try and find her?" He suggested.

The little girl jumped up and down in her seat. "You would be the best person ever!"

Gibbs nodded with a smile. "Do you know her name, Anna?" He asked.

"I called her Aunt Christie." She smiled back.

Jenny came down the stairs into the squad room and saw Gibbs and Anna sitting at his desk, talking.

"Have fun today?" She asked them both.

Anna smiled. "Yes!"

Jenny laughed quietly. "Are you guys ready to head home?"

Anna nodded and both girls looked to Gibbs for his answer.

He noticed them staring. "You both go ahead. I still have some work to finish up here." He said.

Jenny looked at him noting the tension lines covering his forehead and the dark bags under his eyes. "Are you sure?" He nodded. "Okay well make sure you don't stay too late." She smiled walking over to him and placing a quick kiss to the top of his head.

"See you later." He said and watched them both disappear into the elevator.

He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial three. It rang four times before a young man picked up on the other line. "Boss?"

"McGee, are you able to come back to the office? I need your help with a few things." He said in a lone tone.

A few moments of silence passed and just when Gibbs had thought that his junior agent had hung up, "Sure Boss. I'll be there in fifteen." He said.

"Great," Gibbs said as he hung up and placed his cell phone back onto his desk.

* * *

Once McGee got to NCIS he took the elevator to the squad room and entered the bullpen. He walked in to see his boss asleep at his desk. He made his way over to the older man's desk and called his name. "Boss?"

Gibbs' eyes shot open and looked around, then back to McGee. He looked at his watch. "Thanks for coming back."

McGee nodded. "What do you need me to do?" He asked.

Gibbs sat up straight in his chair and both agents could hear the several cracking noises coming from Gibbs' back. "Anna told me that she has an aunt, or _had _an aunt. We're going to find out who she is, where she is, and if she's alive or not." He stated.

McGee walked over to his desk. He set his bag down next to his trash can and sat in his chair. "Okay where do we start?"

"We find out her last name. It's either Anna's last name or her mother's maiden name. Her first name is Christie." McGee nodded and let Gibbs continue. "You start searching for police reports filed under Christie Carlton and I'll look for any reports filed under Christie Stevenson." He ordered.

They got to work and were fighting the time; both wanting to get home to bed.

"Boss, I found something." McGee said and waited until Gibbs made his way over to his desk to see the computer screen. "It's a police file from five years ago. A twenty eight year old woman named Christie Carlton was abducted by a white male while she was walking in the morning. The police spent several months searching for her but they never found her. Eventually the case turned cold."

Gibbs nodded. "That's her, find her. Does the report say anything about any friends or witnesses?"

"There were two witnesses. One was a teenage boy who was on his way to school, and the other was a middle aged woman on her way to work. It says here that they spoke to a friend of hers named Melanie Parker. The report says that Melanie wasn't very willing to talk to the police. It says that she was hesitant and nervous but she blamed it on beer."

"Got a number and address for the friend?"

McGee nodded. "Yeah, I'll check to make sure it's still accurate." He said as he started typing away on his keyboard.

After several minutes he looked back up to Gibbs. "Her record confirms that she still lives at that same address. She also has a pretty heavy criminal record."

"Let's go pick her up." Gibbs said walking back to his desk.

McGee looked at him with one eye brow slightly higher than the other. "But Boss, it's eleven at night. Can't it wait until tomorrow?" He asked, desperate to go home and sleep.

Gibbs sighed. "Look McGee, If you want to home, than go. I can go get Parker myself. I appreciate the help." Gibbs said making his way to the elevator.

McGee grabbed his bag and hurried into the elevator along with Gibbs. "Not gonna let you go alone Boss."

Gibbs just smirked. "I know,"

* * *

They walked up to the house of Melanie Parker and they immediately noticed that a party was going on inside the home. They knocked on the door and waited until a woman answered the door with a glass of wine in her hand. "Can I help you?" She slurred.

Gibbs stepped forward. "NCIS Special Agents Gibbs and McGee. We're looking for a Melanie Parker." He told her.

The woman straightened up and looked suddenly much more sober. "That's me. What can I do for you officers? If it's about the music I'll make sure it gets turned down."

Gibbs shook his head. "We are conducting an investigation and we need to interview you. Any chance you could come back to NCIS with us so we could talk? You are not under arrest and it won't take long. We just have a few questions to ask."

Melanie thought for a moment and then turned back inside the house and yelled. "Sarah! Watch the house for me I'll be back!" She turned back to the two men and nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Melanie Parker had been sitting alone in the conference room for a good thirty minutes. She was looking around noticing all the pictures hanging up on the wall when she heard the door open. She looked over and saw Agents McGee and Gibbs walking over and sitting across from her. "So what is it that you need me for, officers?" She asked again.

Gibbs was the first to speak. "We are investigating a cold case file from five years ago. It is a case involving the kidnapping of Christie Carlton."

Melanie's eyes widened. "_Christie_? Look, I already told the police I didn't know anything."

Gibbs studied her for a moment and then brought his eyes back down to the file. "It says here that when the police officers questioned you, you had stated that Christie was your best friend."

Melanie considered this. "Yeah, she was my best friend. Until about a week before she went missing. She started going to clubs and hanging out with strippers. She even made out with my boyfriend. She was turning into bad news."

McGee took a turn to speak. "Why didn't you report this to the police?" He asked.

"Because I didn't really think it had anything to do with her missing."

"Did you know of any threats against Christie?" Gibbs asked.

Melanie shook her head. "Nope," She paused. "Actually, now that I think of it, I remember her telling me about a man that would follow her every night after she left from the bar. She said that he couldn't take a hint. I think his name was Richard Baker," She nodded. "I remember because Christie had showed me a picture of him on Facebook. He's not very good looking."

Gibbs looked to McGee to make sure that he was writing all of this down. "Thank you Miss Parker you have been an excellent help. We will keep in touch." Gibbs said leading her out of the door. He turned to one of the security guards and told them to escort her out. Gibbs also gave her some money to catch a bus home.

"Well I think that went well don't you?" McGee asked breaking the silence.

Gibbs only nodded while he sat down in his chair quietly.

McGee saw Gibbs sit down and took this as a sign that they weren't done for tonight yet. "What next Boss?" He asked sitting down also.

It took Gibbs a few moments to answer. "Find Baker," He said standing up. "Want coffee?" He asked.

McGee looked up and smiled. "Thanks Boss, coffee would be great."

Gibbs nodded and walked out of the squad room.

He walked a few blocks to his favorite coffee shop and bought two cups of coffee; thanking the heavens that they were open twenty four hours.

* * *

An hour later he returned to the squad room and saw McGee typing away at his computer. Gibbs walked over and placed a cup on his agent's desk. McGee stopped typing and picked up the cup. "Thank you, Boss." Gibbs nodded. "Did you get anything yet?"

"Yep, Richard Baker lives in an apartment complex about two miles from here." McGee said.

"He married?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, he has a wife; Rose Baker."

"Any children?"

"None,"

"Let's go," Gibbs said grabbing his bag once again. McGee sighed but followed his boss anyway.

* * *

When they got to the apartment, they walked up to the front desk.

"How can I help you?" The woman at the desk asked with a smile.

"We're NCIS, we need you to tell us what room Richard Baker is in." He said showing her his badge.

She nodded and typed on her computer for a minute. "Mr. Baker lives in 24B, second floor."

Gibbs walked to the elevator without a word.

"Thank you." McGee said before catching up to Gibbs.

They got into the elevator and hit the button for the second floor. "So are we going to bring him back to NCIS?" McGee asked.

Gibbs shook his head. "I don't want him to think he's a suspect." McGee nodded and the elevator came to a stop. Seconds later, the doors opened to reveal the second floor. They made their way to 24B and Gibbs knocked on the door. He was about to knock again when a man that looked similar to the photo in Richards file opened the door. "Yes?"

"Richard Baker?" The man nodded.

"We're NCIS. I'm Agent Gibbs, this is Agent McGee. Can we ask you a few questions inside please?"

He shook his head. "I'd rather you not. I'm busy."

"It will only take a few minutes Mr. Baker." McGee offered.

Richard hesitated but allowed them to come in. "You can sit on the couch." He said.

The two agents sat down and waited for Richard to do the same. "What kind of questions do you have for me and why couldn't it have waited for tomorrow?" He asked.

"We are investigating a cold case from several years ago and we were wondering if you knew who this woman is?" Gibbs said taking out a photo of Christie Carlton and handing to Richard.

Richard looked at the picture for a few moments and then handed it back to Gibbs. "Sorry, don't know her. What does she have to do with me?" He asked.

"Where's your wife? Could we see if she knows this woman?" Gibbs asked ignoring Richard's question.

Richard looked Gibbs in the eye for a second then looked away. "She is sleeping, and no, I will not wake her up so you can talk to her." He said but he was interrupted when a beautiful woman with curly blond hair came out of the hallway. "What's going on Richard?" She asked facing him with her hair covering most of her face.

"Nothing Rose, go back to bed." Richard said through clenched teeth staring at the agents.

The woman didn't move. "Who are these people?" She asked.

Richard's patience blew out and her turned around and screamed, "I said go back to bed!" causing the woman to jump back.

Gibbs decided to step in. "You don't have to go anywhere ma'am. Could we ask you a few questions?" He asked still not able to see her face due to her hair sticking to her face from just waking up.

She brought her hands up to her face and wiped away the hair that was in the way. She looked towards Gibbs and McGee. "Is something wrong officers?"

Gibbs was about to answer when he noticed something about her face that didn't seem right. There were no flaws on her face what so ever. But there was something about her face that he recognized. He looked over to McGee to see him staring at her the same way which only meant that McGee noticed it too. Gibbs took the photo back out of his jacket, gave it a long glance, and then passed it on to McGee.

Gibbs took one step forward. "Christie?"

* * *

**I made this chapter extra-long in hopes that you guys would forgive me for taking so long to update. PLEASE review and let me know what you think. I live on my viewer's feedback. :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Not my characters unfortunately. ENJOY :)**

**A/N I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while! I have been going through surgery after surgery and haven't had the time to update. Unfortunately, this is the final chapter, but thank you to everyone who has been with this story from the beginning, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it:)**

* * *

Gibbs took one step forward. "Christie?"

"That's it," Richard said jumping up to his feet. "I want you both out." He growled but neither Gibbs nor McGee were paying attention to him. They continued to stare at the woman standing before them.

"I'm sorry officers," The woman started. "You must have the wrong person. My name is Rose."

Gibbs went back and forth from the picture to the real thing. "McGee," He said breaking eye contact with the woman. "Take Mr. Baker out to the car. I'll be right out."

McGee nodded and walked over to Richard. He brought the man's hands to his back and placed the cold, silver handcuffs on his wrists. "Richard Baker, you are under arrest for the kidnaping of Christie Carlton. You have the right to remain silent. Anything that you say can and _will _be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford one then one will be appointed to you-"McGee continued reading the man's rights while Richard tried to fight away.

"Let go of me! I did nothing wrong! Tell them sweetie," He yelled looking his wife in the eye, glaring at her. "Tell them that they have made a mistake!" He said while being dragged out of the room by the younger agent.

Gibbs and the woman standing beside him watched the whole thing. Gibbs waited until Richard was taken out of the room before he turned back to the woman.

"He did nothing wrong Officer. You have the wrong person." She said looking down.

Gibbs gently took hold of her hand. "Can we sit for a minute?" He asked.

She hesitated but nodded her head allowing him to guide her over to the couch.

Once they were seated, Gibbs handed the picture over to her. She took it and stared at it. "I don't know her, I'm sorry."

Gibbs shook his head. "Not good enough. Take a good look at it, Christie."

"My name isn't Christie; it's Rose." She mumbled again.

"Christie," He said, ignoring her last statement. "Look at that picture. That's you Christie; it's you before that man changed you."

She remained silent. "I love him. I was hesitant at first, but he has showed me that I really do love him."

Gibbs sighed. "Then why did he kidnap you Christie? Why did he take you away from all you had going for you? Why did he take you away from your family?"

She stared at the picture. "It was my fault. He tried to explain to me how me were meant to be together but I ignored him. I gave him no other option but to show me that I loved him."

"I don't believe that you love him. I believe that he forced you to believe it." Gibbs said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out another picture and handed it over to Christie. "Who is this?" He asked.

She looked at the picture letting a single tear fall down to her chin. "Anna," She smiled through her tears. "Where is she?" She looked up to Gibbs, needing answers.

"She is safe. Her parents recently were killed in a car accident." She gasped. "My brother? He's dead?" She cried.

Gibbs nodded. "Anna needs you. She is currently staying in the custody of NCIS until we were able to locate you."

"What about my mother? Can't Anna live with her?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Anna's grandmother passed away not too long ago."

Christie was really crying now. "Oh my God." She looked back to the picture. "She has to be what? Nine years old now?" She asked to herself.

"Ten," Gibbs corrected her. He stood up. "C'mon, let's get you out of here. Your niece needs you."

"Do I have to be in the same car as that monster?" She asked, still sitting down.

"No, we can call a cab if you would like." Gibbs offered but Christie shook her head. "I have a car."

Gibbs nodded. "Very well." He said following Christie out to her car. "Would you mind driving? I don't exactly know where we are headed."

Gibbs gave a slight chuckle. "I don't mind." He said getting into the driver's seat. He took out his cell phone and called McGee, letting him know that he was to take Richard back to Headquarters and stick him in interrogation one.

* * *

Christie opened her eyes when she felt the car hit a bump. She looked over to realize that she was still with the NCIS agent. "Where are we?" She asked watching as he pulled into a drive way.

"My house." He stated.

She looked over to him confused. "Why are we at your house?" She asked.

Gibbs remained quiet as he opened his side door. "Just c'mon." He said helping her out of the car.

They walked up the front walk way and slowly opened the door. Christie thought it was strange that the agent would keep his door unlocked at this hour, but she let it go, assuming that he had just forgotten to lock it.

Gibbs turned the living room light on and threw his bag on the couch. "Come with me." He whispered walking towards the stairs. They ascended the stairs quietly and walked about three doors down the hallway until Gibbs stopped in front of the last door on the left. He gently opened it and signaled for Christie to go in the room with him. He didn't bother to turn the bedroom light on because there was plenty of light shining in from the hallway.

They walked over to a bed that was in the far corner of the room. Christie examined the little girl lying in the bed asleep. "Is this Anna?" She whispered while her eyes filled up with tears once again. Gibbs nodded and crouched down next to the bed. He shook the girls arm gently. "Anna." He said trying to get her to wake up. "Anna, wake up." He said again.

After a few moments the child's eyes fluttered open and she sat up looking into Gibbs' eyes. "What's wrong?" She asked, not noticing the woman standing behind Gibbs.

Gibbs smiled. He looked back at Christie, took her hand, and brought her closer to the bed so Anna could see her. Anna looked confused.

"Hi Anna." Christie smiled, still letting the tears fall.

Anna looked back at Gibbs with confusion written all over her eyes.

"What's the matter Anna? Forget what your own Aunt looks like?" Gibbs grinned.

Anna's head snapped back to the woman and her face lit up. "Aunt Christie?!" She said with her mouth almost falling to the wooden floor below. "Hi kiddo." Christie said sitting next to Anna on the bed.

"Aunt Christie!" Anna repeated, yelling with a smile. Christie brought her into a hug and they stayed like that for a while until the heard running down the hall. All three looked to the door to find Jenny standing there, out of breathe. "What's going on?" She asked walking towards Gibbs.

Gibbs wrapped his arm around Jenny's back. "Jen, this is Christie Carlton; Anna's aunt." He smiled.

Jenny's face was priceless. She was shocked. "You found her?" She asked with a smile on her face. He nodded looking back at Anna who was still clinging to her Aunt's arm.

Christie kissed the top of Anna's head and looked back to Gibbs. "I can't thank you enough." She smiled.

"It was my pleasure." He smiled back.

"Am I going home with you Aunt Christie?" Anna said looking up into her eyes.

"Um," Christie said unsure, looking at Gibbs and Jenny.

"Yes Anna, you can go home with your Aunt." Gibbs said then turned his attention to Christie. "But you will have to stop by NCIS tomorrow and we can help you get the custody papers sorted out. Anna, you can hang out with Abby while we are doing that." Christie nodded watching her nieces face get brighter. She hugged the little girl even tighter. "I missed you Aunt Christie."

"I missed you too kiddo."

* * *

_2 years later_

"Open this one Anna." Christie said, handing her a present from under the tree. Anna took it and tore the wrapping paper off. Her eyes widened and she jumped with joy. "A new phone? Thank you so much Aunt Christie!" She smiled.

"Merry Christmas Sweetie." Christie smiled. Reaching into her bag, she took out two neatly wrapped presents. "Here Anna, give these to Jen and Jethro."

Anna walked over and handed a present to each of them. "Merry Christmas." She smiled.

"Merry Christmas Anna." Gibbs said wrapping her into a hug.

"Open it! Open it!" She said jumping up and down.

Gibbs opened his gift first. It was a whole toolbox filled with tools he could use for his wood. "Thank you Anna." He smiled.

Jenny gently removed her wrapping paper to reveal a framed painting that read,

_A wife is made for laughter,_

_A wife is made good looking. _

_A wife is always there for you, _

_Most importantly, she's there for cooking._

"Aw I love it Anna, thank you!" Jenny laughed.

"It's for your kitchen." Anna smiled proudly.

"And it is so true." Gibbs smiled, kissing his wife gently.

"Anna there's one more present here for your cousin." Christie said holding out a loosely wrapped box.

Anna jumped up and took the present to her cousin who was sitting on Jenny's lap. "Merry Christmas Lindsey." She said giving the present to Jenny so she could open it for her.

It was a bib that said, 'I survived my first Christmas.'

"That's so cute Anna. Did you pick it out?" Gibbs asked, watching Jenny put it around his daughter's neck.

"Yep, I thought she would like it." She smiled.

"She loves it, thank you Anna." Jenny said smiling down at her daughter.

"Anna, there's one more present for you behind the tree," He pointed towards the colorfully lit Christmas tree. "It's from Lindsey."

Anna jumped up and down and raced to the tree, pulling out a huge wrapped box. "It's so heavy!" She said.

She sat down and tore the Santa Clause covered paper off revealing a multi-compartment art studio desk. She shrieked and ran over to Gibbs and Jenny, giving them a hug. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I love it!"

Gibbs laughed. "Why are you thanking us? Lindsey was the one who remembered how much you have been wanting that desk." He smiled.

Anna walked over to Lindsey and kissed her gently on the head. "Thank you Lindsey. You are the best cousin ever. Merry first Christmas." She smiled. Christie came over and gave Jenny and Jethro a hug, thanking them for buying Anna the Art desk she's been obsessing over for months.

Anna pulled Christie down into a hug and wrapped her arm around Jenny and Lindsey. Soon they were all piled up into one giant hug. "This is the best family ever." She smiled.

* * *

**Well, that's it. I hope you loved it! Thank you for everyone who has reviewed and for everyone who took the time to read this sequel. XOXO**


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